The Nameless Extra: I Proofread This World

"It’s a Malice Voidspawn."

’What? A Malice Voidspawn?’

But how come?

Ruvian frowned the moment he heard Seraphine say those words. His steps slowed slightly as his mind immediately began running through everything he could remember.

A Malice-rank appearing here didn’t make sense.

He quickly searched through his memory of the original novel.

From what he recalled, there were only two Malice Voidspawns in the entire Deepmarch Dungeon.

One of them was the Silk Tyrant, the queen of the spider-type Voidspawn that Calyra would eventually encounter deeper inside the dungeon, within one of its inner chambers.

While the other was the Dread Araknid, another spider-type that led a group of Wretched-class Voidspawn. That encounter was supposed to happen elsewhere in the dungeon where Julian and Instructor Veliana would face them.

Ruvian’s frown deepened slightly.

Those were the only two Malice-rank entities he could clearly remember. So there shouldn’t have been any other Malice-rank Voidspawn in this dungeon.

Then, suddenly, a troubling possibility forced its way into his thoughts.

’Is there an additional one? So it’s three instead of two?’

’No, what if there isn’t an additional one at all...?’

’What if, instead of appearing in Calyra’s area or Julian’s sector of the dungeon like I remembered... one of them was actually stationed here from the very beginning?’

Ruvian’s expression hardened as that realization began to take shape in his mind, the faint confidence he had carried earlier wavering slightly under the weight of that possibility.

If that were true, then the sequence of events he had been relying on might not be as absolute as he had believed.

After a brief moment, he calmly shook his head.

There was no point in dwelling on it any further.

Right now, he simply did not possess enough information to draw any reliable conclusions. For all he knew, there might have been three Malice-rank Voidspawns in this dungeon instead of two.

But regardless of how that uncertainty resolved itself, the objective he had set his sights on had not changed.

The egg chamber was somewhere ahead of them.

And to abandon that opportunity now... would be nothing short of a waste. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

’I need to convince Seraphine.’

’Her strength stood on a level comparable to that of a Grand Magus, and by all reasonable standards any Grand Magus should face little difficulty when confronting a Malice-rank Voidspawn.’

"It should be fine," Ruvian said, turning fully toward her.

"You’re here with us after all, Seraphine. With someone of your strength present, dealing with a Malice-rank shouldn’t become a problem."

Seraphine’s gaze settled on him immediately.

Her expression did not change.

"And what exactly is the foundation of that confidence of yours?" she asked, her voice calm yet carrying an unmistakable weight.

’Huh?’

"You have barely known me for more than a few minutes. And even if you were familiar with my abilities thanks to your abnormal ability, it would still be dangerously simplistic to assume that superiority in raw strength alone guarantees an easy victory."

"That—"

Ruvian opened his mouth slightly, but Seraphine continued before he could interrupt.

"Yes," she said plainly, "in a direct confrontation I may possess the advantage. A Malice-rank Voidspawn is not something that lies beyond my capacity to defeat."

Her eyes shifted toward the dark tunnel ahead, the faint light of her [Illuminate] spell reflecting across her steady silver eyes.

She sighed. "However, strength, by itself, is never the sole factor that determines the outcome of a battle."

"Malice-rank Voidspawn are different from Wretched or Lesser rank Voidspawn. They are not just stronger versions of a monster. They are intelligent enough to adapt, to exploit weaknesses, and in many cases they possess abilities that are both irrationally powerful and completely unpredictable."

"Many Malice-rank monsters also have unique abilities... abilities that cannot be predicted without prior knowledge of the monster."

Then she gestured slightly toward the narrow tunnel stretching into darkness before them.

"And we would not be fighting it in open terrain. We would be engaging it inside its own territory, within a narrow passage where our maneuverability is limited."

Her gaze shifted briefly toward Silvena and Rosalin.

"In a situation like that, my attention would be divided between fighting the creature and protecting the three of you."

Both Silvena and Rosalin stiffened faintly at those words.

"So, let me be clear again, I am confident in my ability to fight," Seraphine continued evenly. "What I cannot confidently promise is that I could protect three scholars simultaneously if the battle escalates into chaos."

"And allow me to remind you of something else as well."

Her gaze returned to Ruvian.

"My role here has been clearly defined from the very beginning. My foremost responsibility is to ensure Lady Silvena’s safety. Not yours."

"And I have already stretched the limits of that responsibility by allowing this group to travel beyond the academy’s designated exploration zone."

She shook her head faintly. "So please understand that advancing further under these conditions would be irresponsible."

"..."

Ruvian fell silent. As much as he disliked admitting it, everything Seraphine had said was perfectly reasonable.

’Haa... this is not good.’

’I should’ve expected that she would not agree to this.’

A Malice-rank Voidspawn was not simply a stronger monster. It was an unpredictable enemy capable of turning even a favorable battle into a catastrophe.

And more importantly, Seraphine wasn’t here to hunt monsters.

She was here to protect Silvena.

But what Ruvian and Silvena didn’t know... Seraphind was just testing him. ’Now, how will he react to this?’

Ruvian fell silent.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he replayed her words in his mind.

In the end, he had no other choice.

Letting out a slow, restrained sigh, Ruvian stepped forward. He walked toward Seraphine and stopped directly in front of her.

"You said your only concern is protecting us while fighting it... right?"

Ruvian lifted his gaze and met her eyes without hesitation, his expression firm, almost stubborn, almost irritated.

"Then we’ll simply remove that concern."

"If we can make it so that protecting us is no longer something you need to worry about... then, will you still stand by your words and allow us to proceed?"

For a short while, neither of them said anything.

Their gazes remained locked, but the atmosphere between them was tightening as if a small spark had quietly ignited in front of their eyes.

Sensing the tension beginning to rise between the two of them, Silvena quickly stepped in with a small, uneasy laugh.

"Whoa, whoa, wait. Hey, both of you, let’s not turn this into a fight can we?" she said, raising both of her hands slightly.

She let out a soft sigh before turning toward Seraphine.

’And more than that, is he seriously picking a fight with Seraphine knowing how strong she is? Is he crazy?’ Silvena thought.

"Listen, Seraphine—"

"Fine."

Seraphine’s voice cut through the air before Silvena could even finish.

"I’ll hear your explanation on how you intend to approach this first," she said calmly, her gaze still fixed on Ruvian.

"But if what I hear turns out to be nothing more than reckless and illogical nonsense..."

Then her expression hardened slightly.

"...then we retreat immediately and report this to the officials."

"..."

"Alright, sure."

Turning away, Ruvian closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm himself.

’God damn it. Haaa... Let’s calm down and think about this carefully.’

When he opened them again, his gaze slowly lowered to the floor as his thoughts raced.

’First, there’s no way the Silk Tyrant is guarding the egg chamber... From what I remember, it should have been searching for another empty chamber to lay a new clutch.’

’That’s the reason why it came into this lower tier dungeon.’

’Which means that only leaves the Dread Araknid...’

’If it really is the Dread Araknid, then it would make sense. It possesses the unique ability [Spider Senses], which also allowing it to detect threats against its species. Since its entire role in the hierarchy is to protect the queen and the eggs...’

’It must have sensed Seraphine as the most dangerous presence and moved here instead of heading toward Julian’s location.’

Of course, this was still only a theory.

But still, it was the closest one.

With a heavy sigh, Ruvian finally made his decision.

Then...

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[Chapter 101: The Deepmarch Dungeon (6)]